


In Places Between

by Always1



Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Genre: Alastor is delighted, Angel being Angel, Apocalyptic mistake, But her sisters..., But it sounds like she does, Canon-Typical Violence, Charlie makes a wish, Falling into Hell, Friendship, Gen, Heaven isn’t happy, Hell isn’t exactly thrilled either, Humor, Maybe it worked?, Misunderstandings, OC is a Shade, OC is not looking to go to Heaven, Panic Attack, Protective Lucifer, Purgatory, Vaggie is so done, nice OC
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-23
Updated: 2020-01-27
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:00:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22370686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Always1/pseuds/Always1
Summary: The owner of a hotel with one semi-willing guest, Charlie calls upon the strongest magic in Pentagram City to send her a soul in need.As a Shade of Purgatory, Lotus Eater is tasked with keeping the residents of the Place In-Between dazed and devoid of meaning in her world’s eternal mist, but when a surprise altercation leads to a tumble into the bowels of Hell, everything she thinks she knows about the Divine Order begins to unravel. How can Lucifer-the-Fallen’s heir be a bright soul clearly meant for Heaven, and what does it mean for the damned to try for redemption? Also, why does Charlie keep asking her about a magic wishing fountain? Is that even a thing?There is a reason Shades are restricted to Purgatory, and Lotus’s time in the Hazbin Hotel may be the undoing of a division that has existed longer than humanity itself. If she can survive the company, that is.
Relationships: Charlie Magne & Everyone, Charlie Magne & Original Character(s), Charlie Magne/Vaggie, Lilith Magne/Lucifer Magne
Comments: 4
Kudos: 33





	1. Wishing “Well”

Charlie didn’t think she asked for a lot. She just wanted her Happy Hotel to be a success, which meant helping Sinners see the errors of their ways and be welcomed into Heaven, where they could all live together in the endless puffy clouds with flowers and puppies and other really nice people who wouldn’t make fun of her songs.

Nope, just simple goals here.

Yeah.

The princess of Hell’s smile faltered as she walked down Avarice Avenue, stepping over yet another of her discarded pamphlets. Her plan was definitely feasible (if her dad could go down to Hell, why couldn’t nice people like Vaggie or Niffty go up?), but her Hotel could only redeem its guests if she actually HAD guests willing to put in the work. Angel was a great guy deep down, but helping him would be a lot easier once she could show him that there was nothing weird or wrong about making some positive afterlife changes. And that meant setting up a proper support group.

Which meant she needed a group to be supportive, so she’d really appreciate if people would stop leaving her carefully made pamphlets on the dirty, blood-coated road.

Deciding to take a break for now, Charlie stepped into Sisyphus Square. Smiling a little at the familiar sight of one of her favorite places in the Pentagram, she followed the sound of bubbling water to the large fountain dedicated to the Corinthian King’s eternal punishment. She still remembered coming here on her fiftieth birthday with her parents, having an impromptu picnic at the water’s edge while the Royal Guards dragged out the local demons to give the Magnes their privacy. It’d been a fun day, and her dad had taught her all about the history of the Pentagram over apple slices and finger sandwiches.

“The reason this place is always so packed,” he’d explained, gesturing to the empty Square and ignoring the wailing of a beetle demon being dragged out of his shop and carried back down the road, “is actually this fountain.”

“The fountain?” She’d asked. It was a very big fountain, she supposed, and the statue of the man playing with the big ball was really lifelike, but she didn’t see what made it so special.

“Yes, indeed, the fountain! Good old Sisyphus may be down a few circles, but this fountain has stood here for over a thousand years. No small feat, seeing as the average age for most buildings is ten years before they get blown up in turf wars or ripped apart by the Extermination!”

Lucifer’s smile widened as he pat the black stone circling the landmark. 

“Because of its unusual resilience, weaker demons like to believe this is a place of protection. Nonsense of course, but I do like to stop by to hear their silly little wishes. Some of those scamps are so creative!”

Charlie perked up at this last piece of information. “You can make wishes here? Really? Can we try?! Please, please, please, pl-eep!” Charlie squeaked as Lilith picked her up, an indulgent smile on the Succubus Queen’s dark lips.

“Now Charlie, wishes aren’t something to be taken lightly. Very few fountains have that kind of power, and even less requests are granted. Right, my darling?”

Lilith glared at her husband over her daughter’s head, silencing his explanation before it could begin.

“Hahaha, of course!” Lucifer exclaimed, quickly backtracking. Nobody who called him the most powerful force in Hell had seen his wife when somebody upset their only child.

“Wishes are for when you REALLY need something, Charlie, so let’s save yours for now. Now, how about some ice cream?”

Returning to the present as the water gurgled below, Charlie opened her eyes. That was it! She still had her wish, and she finally knew what to wish for.

Vaggie would be soooo proud of her for solving their guest issue! And a happy Vaggie meant an even happier Charlie Magne.

Standing up and pulling a small silver coin out of her pocket, the blonde narrowed her eyes in determination. 

“Wishing fountain! I, Charlie Magne, daughter of Lucifer and Lilith, beseech you to grant my one true wish!”

The water rippled agreeably beneath her.

“My Hotel needs more guests to be successful, so I hereby wish for you to send me people who want my help to overcome their mistakes and ascend to the realm above!”

Charlie tossed in her coin and quickly scanned the Square, expecting a line of demons to appear now that the fountain had accepted her offering.

Any second now....now...maybe now...THERE, wait, no, that was a plastic bag...

Sweating slightly, Charlie looked back at the water. Hadn’t she done that right? Maybe the fountain needed time? Or maybe she’d wished for too much for a first time wisher?

“Um, magic wishing fountain,” she began, trying to amend her wish without losing out on what she needed, “I’d be happy to start with even one new guest! Not even immediately, but sometime really soon! Thank you!”

Nodding to herself, Charlie picked up her remaining pamphlets and began the long walk back to the Hotel.

Good things were coming, she could feel it.


	2. Trip, Trap, Trouble

A dark gray quilt pulled tight as a shadow loomed over the bed.

“Get up. You need to get ready before patrol starts.”

The lump in the middle of the small one person cot shifted, then settled again.

“Lotus, come on. It’s Mana’s turn to use that bed.” 

No movement.

“Lotus!”

“Mphrg!”

“You brought this on yourself, you eternal brat!” Pale hands grabbed at the quilt, tugging it off the cot and sending the girl underneath crashing to the floor with a shriek.

“Poppy!” she complained, picking herself off the cold stone floor. Why did her bossiest sibling always have to be the one sent to wake her up?

“Don’t you ‘Poppy’ me, you’ve used up your allotted rest time and it’s Mana’s turn. I’m not letting you guilt her into giving up her time when WE have work to do.” Cherry red eyes glared into her sister’s lavender irises, only softening when the slender figure turned away to check her reflection in the small mirror at the end of the Resting Area.

Honestly, Poppy despaired of her sister ever managing to follow a schedule without her help. Thousands of years of lectures hadn’t taught the thirty-fourth Shade of Purgatory any more responsibility than she’d had at the dawn of Creation.

Actually, they hadn’t known about sleep then, so Lotus had only gotten worse with age.

“Fine, ready,” Lotus said, pushing back a stray lock with her fingers. “And don’t act like Mana cares if I sleep in. You know she’d rather be reading.”

“That isn’t the point and you know it. We all need time off patrol, and it’s Mana’s turn to rest. She can read if she wants, but that bed needs to be available if she wants to use it, and you need to be outside before Ophelia and Yarrow leave Zone Eight. We all-“

“We all have a part to play in keeping the eternal peace of the three realms, as mandated by the Divine Order,” the blonde finished, voice dry. “Pops, there’s fifty of us, and our job is to walk around in circles until someone else comes over and walks around in circles where we were walking in circles. Do you really think me getting an extra hour of sleep is gonna be the end of the world?”

Lotus jumped to the side, barely avoiding a swipe from her increasingly irritated partner. She knew Poppy didn’t like when she questioned their work, but why did their work have to be SO boring? Forty-five Shades patrolled in and around the twenty completely identical sections of Purgatory every day while five had the option to rest, read, or socialize inside their barracks, the same thing they’d been doing a century ago.

And a century before that.

And a thousand years before that.

And ten thousand years before that, all the way back to the day the Shades had risen from the nothingness between Heaven and Hell. Who could blame her for wanting to take a day off?

Poppy, apparently, as her sister finally managed to snag her wrist, dragging her out the door and into the mist. Red eyes glared through the endless gray of the Place In-Between, picking up on Ophelia’s turquoise colored aura in the distance, Yarrow’s lemon yellow not far behind.

Stepping carefully over the bodies stretched over the ground, Poppy and Lotus approached their sisters. “Greetings, sisters Ophelia and Yarrow,” Poppy intoned, the familiar lines coming out with ease, “we have come to guard and maintain the sanctity of this Zone. Take joy in your time of rest.”

“Greetings, sisters Poppy and Lotus,” the two replied, “we thank you for this reprieve and wish you well on your patrol.” Breaking character for a moment, Yarrow sent a quick wink over Poppy’s shoulder and Lotus smiled back. Yarrow was one of her favorite sisters, and the only one other than her who liked to switch things up from time to time. They’d had a lot of fun during those few times they’d been sent to patrol together.

That was probably why they hadn’t been assigned to the same patrol in a few thousand years, because Pilar was even more of a stickler for the rules than Poppy at her worst.

Stupid, fun-sucking Pilar.

As Yarrow and Ophelia retreated into the mist, heading back to the barracks, Lotus turned to her sister. “I go left, you go right?”

“Agreed,” Poppy nodded, relaxing now that the switch off was complete. “We have plenty of new Wisps this week, so make sure to check their auras and see who needs to go deeper into the mist. The last thing we need are more walkers stumbling into each other. Human souls are awful with confrontations. And Lotus?”

“Yeah?” Lotus looked up from the loose string at the end of her sleeve.

“Do not talk to the Wisps.”

“I won’t!”

“I mean it. Leave them alone; they aren’t here to entertain you with stories about earth.” 

“I know!” Lotus snapped, her temper building back up. Talking to the Wisps had gotten her in a lot of trouble in the past, since the deceased tended to be a bit more...animated when reminded of their lives before Purgatory, and nothing good came of a Wisp with something on their mind.

Even if some of them had good stories. Like Egan, who’d marched against the Spartans in battle, or Amelie, who’d cheered as Louis XVI was led up to meet the guillotine.

Sure Mrs. Harvey has gotten a little too lively talking about her date with John Dillinger, but it’s not like she’d KNOWN the elderly Wisp would break into the barracks, steal one of Clarity’s carving knives and hold it to her neck while demanding to be taken-to-Heaven-or-she-gets-it. Wisps were funny like that if you gave them a chance.

Walking away with a huff, Lotus opened her eyes wide, allowing the auras of Purgatory to flicker through the endless haze. There were a lot of new Wisps out today, though most had begun to slow as the mist did its job, filling them with apathy and indolence as their minds became too fogged up for things like hope or despair.

All in a day’s work....except...

Stopping, Lotus focused on the strange aura closing in on her location. It was...unusually bright, even for a newly manifested Wisp, the light surging with defiance as its body moved from side to side, seemingly intently focused on something in front of it.

.  
That  
.  
Wasn’t  
.  
Natural  
.

Lotus backed up a step, her mind racing. Never in her entire existence had she seen a Wisp that full of emotion, that focused (or able to focus) on anything, that shockingly bright.

It was amazing.

It was dangerous.

Purgatory was a place of nothingness, where deceased souls would come to be eased away from the burdens and dreams of their mortal lives and welcomed back into the void from which all life began. Only Shades could walk the endless field without giving in to the mist. Only Shades could ever have that sort of energy here.

But that wasn’t a Shade.

She should get Poppy. Poppy would know what to do, and if not they could find Pilar, who always had plans, even if she didn’t know what was happening, because that was what Pilar did.

Pilar was great like that.

Lotus started to back away, lavender gaze never leaving the distant Wisp. One step at a time, and don’t attract it’s attention while you’re on your own. Step back, step back, step, step, step.

Just a little farther and...

“Gah!” Feet connecting solidly with the head of a Wisp laying behind her, the blonde tripped, falling onto her back. Rolling over quickly, she looked back towards the strange Wisp.

Where the strange Wisp should have been.

Jumping up, Lotus began to run towards Poppy’s aura. She wasn’t close enough to call to, not with the mist muffling noises the way it always did, but her sister wasn’t to far if she could just

WHAM!

Once more falling to the ground, Lotus clutched at her head, her vision fading in and out. Before she could move, a body was on top of her, a brightly shining aura burning into her eyes as the Wisp’s hands grabbed at her shoulders.

“Get off! Get off!” Hooking a knee around the Wisp’s back, Lotus flipped them, clawing desperately at the hand snaking around her neck. This couldn’t be happening. Energized Wisps could attack Shades, but they couldn’t actually hurt them! 

Shade and Wisp rolled along the brown grass, Lotus kneeing the Wisp, now identifiable as a large male, in the stomach while he managed to get a fist around her hair, pulling it back with a harsh yank.

“POPPY!” She screamed, hoping her sister was close enough to hear her. “POPPY, HELP!” The Wisp grunted as her fist connected with his face, dark green eyes boring into her own. This couldn’t be happening. A Wisp couldn’t take hits from a Shade and remain unaffected. A Wisp couldn’t be grasping her arm now, pulling her forward while the mist spun around them.

He couldn’t.

He was.

“POPPY! POPPY, PLEASE! HELP ME!”

It was no use, the mist was too strong here. Poppy wouldn’t hear her before the Wisp...before he what? Where was he taking her?

“LOTUS, WHERE ARE YOU?” Poppy’s call rang through the mist, and Lotus’s heart clenched. Her sister was coming for her.

“LOTUS! LOTUS, I SEE YOU! I’M COMING!” That was Poppy’s light moving closer. She was gonna be ok. Everything was going 

T  
O

B  
E

J  
U  
S  
T

F  
I  
N  
E

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Purgatory’s pretty different from Heaven or Hell, but that was a weird day even for them. Comments and constructive criticism are very welcome.


	3. Arms Open Wide

Dating the quirky princess of Hell had been a real eye-opener for Vaggie; she’d seen first hand that not all demons were evil, that good could exist in the darkest of places and in the most surprising of people. Every lesson, no matter how strange, was one she cherished.

Today she was learning that her girlfriend was insane.

“Um, Hon,” Vaggie started, moving back as another cloud of dust rose into the air, “not that I’m judging, but I thought we agreed that spring cleaning would start in the spring this year. Also, isn’t that Niffty’s duster?”

Grinning with excitement, Charlie let go of the duster, turning to face the moth demoness. “Niffty’s busy cleaning Angel’s room, so I said I’d handle this while she’s working. Don’t worry, she taught me how to use one of these! You just move your wrist up and down so the dust-“

Vaggie let her mind wander as her girlfriend continued to gesticulate, dropping back to the floor to retrieve her cleaning supplies. As long as she’d known her, Charlie Magne had been a beacon of positive energy and optimism, but she’d been unusually energetic since the day before, returning to the Hazbin -sorry, Happy- Hotel with a bounce in her step and a grin on her face that would’ve made Alastor proud.

“-so then you press this button and the vac-fume starts eating up the dirt, but you need to be careful to keep it away from your clothes,” the blonde finished, happy to be learning how to keep her building in tip-top shape. Cleaning was so much fun! No wonder Niffty hadn’t wanted to share her spritzer and Husk had refused to let her polish the glasses at the bar. Oh well, at least she could focus on what mattered first.

Room 211. A spacious, fully furnished (if slightly dusty) bedroom that would be just perfect for her soon-to-be guest! 

Charlie’s lips stretched wider as she though about her future guest. Ever since getting back to the Happy Hotel after her trip to the Greed District, the princess had been preparing for the wish to kick in. After all, she couldn’t welcome in her new guest without a suitable room. Sure, Angel would probably be willing to share for a day or two, but his kind of hospitality might not give him or her the right impression on what they do here. So that meant a little mid-fall cleaning was in order.

Every guest at the Happy Hotel needed to be welcomed in with a big smile, a sparkling clean room, and all the love and understanding they’d need to turn themselves around, and Charlie Antiacrista Magne would be ready with all that and more!

Finally deeming the underside of the dresser suitably clean, Charlie started replacing the sheets on the bed, dropping the old ones to the ground and blissfully ignoring the clawed hand reaching from under the mahogany bed frame to drag them out of sight.

Vaggie narrowed her eye in suspicion. She would really need to find out who kept letting the boogeymen in after she spent so much time chasing them out.

Later.

“Hey, Charlie, how about some lunch?” Vaggie needed to get Charlie to take a breather on her cleaning spree if she wanted answers, and she had just the way to do it.

“It’s not too cold outside yet, so I was thinking a picnic-“

“A picnic! I haven’t had a picnic in years!” In a flash, Charlie had gone from trying to get the fitted sheet onto the mattress to practically carrying her girlfriend out of the room, horns nearly popping out in her excitement.

“Yeah, I think it’d be nice to spend some time together, you know, just the two-“

“WELL HELLOOOO LADIES! WHAT MIGHT YOU BE UP TO THIS FINE MORNING?”

Damn it all, just the last person Vaggie wanted to see.

“Hi Alastor!” Charlie chirped, bouncing on the balls of her feet, “Vaggie and I are going to have a picnic in the garden. Want to join us?”

No.

Please, Satan, let him say no.

“WHY THAT SOUNDS SPLENDID,” the Radio Demon replied, lips cranking wider than usual. “YOU TWO JUST HEAD OUT AND I’LL HANDLE EVERYTHING WE’LL NEED TO MAKE THIS A REAL SHINDIG!”

“We’re not trying to make it a party!” Like Hell was Vaggie letting Alastor drag half of the Pentagram onto their property. Who even knew what he’d end up doing with an audience like that, or how many of them would have all of their limbs in place by the end of the meal. “So if you’ll just-“

Aaaaaand he was gone. That arrogant son of a bitch.

Looking over at Charlie, Vaggie bit back a curse. The girl she loved looked like she was on cloud nine, eyes lighting up at the thought of more people joining them for lunch, the red of her cheeks deepening with anticipation.

Goddamn radio bastard.

Fine, whatever.

She’d take Charlie out to lunch next time.

Biting back a sigh, Vaggie allowed Charlie to drag her out into the garden. She could handle lunch with Niffty and Husk.

“What’s up, Short Stuff? Cyclops?”

Oh, son of a bitch!

Leaning against the lone tree in the Happy Hotel’s small, fenced in garden, Angel Dust looked up from the piglet nestled in his lower set of arms.

“WE were just getting ready for lunch,” Vaggie glared at Angel, willing him to get up and go before the atmosphere she was TRYING to establish with Charlie swirled even farther down the toilet.

“Lunch?” Angel locked eyes with her. “Sure, I guess I can join you for a bite. What’re we having?”

As if waiting for his cue, Alastor popped up between them, a large red blanket appearing beneath his feet and a black hamper overflowing with food resting just off to the side.

“AH, THE BETTER QUESTION IS WHAT AREN’T WE HAVING,” Alastor declared, beginning to remove containers from the hamper. “YES INDEEDY, WE HAVE QUITE THE FEAST IN STORE TODAY, MY EFFEMINATE FELLOW, SO TAKE A SEAT AND LET’S DIG IN!”

Giving up, Vaggie followed Charlie to the picnic blanket, grabbing some sliced fruit and deliberately avoiding the meat. Beside her, Charlie munched on a mini quiche while Angel was kneeling in front of the now almost empty hamper.

“What the shit is this supposed to be?” He grumbled, waving a bottle of sparkling water while Fat Nuggets oinked in solidarity. “Who packs three bottles of water and no hooch for a fancy lunch?”

“HAHAHA,” Alastor laughed, the static in his voice magnified slightly as he tilted his head to look at the fluffy arachnid, “NO NEED TO BE HITTING THE GIGGLE WATER SO QUICKLY, WE’VE GOT A BIG DAY AHEAD OF US!”

“All the more reason to be drinking!” Angel wasn’t prepared to let that one go so quickly. He knew that red asshole had a stash of the good stuff, or at least enough of the bad stuff to make it seem good.

“NOW NOW, WE WOULDN’T WANT TO BE ON A TOOT WHEN OUR NEWEST GUEST ARRIVES, WOULD WE?

“Al’s right, Angel,” Charlie agreed, swallowing a mouthful of pasta salad, “the new guest is gonna need our help, so we can’t get too distracted. Plus, you know you have a two drink a week limit.”

Scowling, Angel grabbed a cucumber sandwich, water still in hand.

“Wait, when did we get a new guest?” Vaggie hadn’t heard about a new guest. When did Charlie find out about them? Was that why she was on a cleaning kick? And why exactly did Alastor of all people know about this before her?!

Interfering bastard. She bet he’d bugged their phones.

“WELL IT’S JUST THE QUAINTEST STORY!” Alastor grinned wider, yellow teeth shining in the morning light. “OUR DEAR CHARLIE TOLD ME LAST NIGHT ABOUT HOW SHE FOUND A NEW WAY TO RECRUIT CLIENTS FOR THE HOTEL, AND I HAVE TO SAY I’VE NEVER HEARD A PLAN QUITE LIKE IT! WHAT A GEM OUR GIRL IS! WHAT A DELIGHT!”

Wild applause erupted from nowhere in particular, and Vaggie and Angel winced as Charlie beamed.

“I was going to wait to tell you until the room was finished, but I guess you should hear it from me before they arrive,” Charlie really hadn’t wanted to tell Vaggie until the preparations were finished, but maybe this way she and Angel would agree to help her iron the curtains. She wasn’t sure why iron would help them, but if Niffty swore by it, it had to be good.

Maybe it helped weigh them down?

Something to think about later.

“We,” Charlie stood up, arms raised towards the sky, “are getting a new guest really soon! Maybe more than one if the magic wishing fountain has enough energy!”

...

...

“Bwahahahaha!”

“HAHAHAHAHA!”

Angel and Alastor broke at the same time, laughter ringing through the air and startling a vulture off a nearby bush.

“Charlie,” Vaggie started, not sure how she was going to continue. She loved her girlfriend more than her life, more than her afterlife, but there’s no way she’d heard that correctly.

“When you say ‘magic wishing fountain,’ that means...?”

The blonde smiled at her girlfriend, understanding her confusion perfectly. Vaggie had only been in Hell for twelve years, after all, so it was natural that she still had a lot to learn about Pentagram City’s most famous sites.

“I’m talking about the fountain in Sisyphus Square. It’s one of the oldest fountains in Hell, and it grants wishes to people who really need something, but just the once, so I used my wish to have it send us at least one guest! Plus, it’s gonna be soon, because I know it’ll be easier to get them before winter sets in!”

Charlie wasn’t sure if the fountain’s magic would really be effected by the changing seasons, but if the water was also magic, it made more sense that it’d work better before Hell froze over in November.

Vaggie stared at Charlie.

Charlie stared back.

Alastor stared at them both.

Angel started on the sparkling water. It wasn’t bad.

Fat Nuggets stole a slice of salami off Angel’s plate.

Someone had to break the silence, and nobody was surprised when that somebody turned out to be Angel Dust.

“Shortie, you are ten types of crazy,” the porn star stood up, arms spread as if to emphasize just how ridiculous he found her. “You really think a magic fountain is gonna send you more people because you made a wish?”

“The fountain accepted my coin,” Charlie frowned, not getting why Angel didn’t get it. He’d been in the Pentagram a lot longer than Vaggie, so he should really know this kind of stuff. “They’ll be coming really soon, maybe even today!”

Angel laughed derisively, stretching all four of his arms out even wider as he began walking towards the Hotel.

“Sure, Blondie, you’re gonna get your new guests. They’re just falling from th-ACK!”

Angel slammed into the ground as a yellow and gray blur landed on his head, sending them tumbling back across the lawn.

Charlie looked down at the unconscious girl, whose roll had stopped at the side of the blanket, barely an inch away from a befuddled Radio Demon.

She looked up at Vaggie.

“Like I said, magic wishing fountain.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vaggie should know better than to doubt her


	4. Two Down!

Charlie smiled down at the girl in the bed, eyes glittering with joy. She’d known the fountain would grant her wish, but her new guest was even better than she’d imagined!

Pastel yellow hair fanning out around a thin body, ending at her lower back...

...A slate gray dress with short, frayed sleeves only highlighting the paleness of skin that looked like it had never seen the sun....

...Tiny feet trailing the cutest little wispy bits of lavender smoke with every movement....

This. Was. So. “Perfect! Vaggie, our new guest is so adorable! Look at her feet, I bet she’s going to be really powerful! I can’t believe the wishing fountain sent us a newly manifested Sinner, I mean-“

“Charlie-“

“-we’ll get the chance to help her find her inner light from the start, before anyone can hurt or try to corrupt-“

“-I really think-“

“-her. What if she’d landed in that sleazeball Valentino’s territory, all small and helpless and asleep like this? He’d probably-“

“-we shouldn’t be having this talk-“

“-have a price on her head within the hour. Speaking of heads, look at her hair! I wonder if she was blonde when she was alive or if the color was randomly chosen like yours. It looks so silky, I wonder what sort of conditioner-“

“-standing over her like this. Charlie, you need to-“

“-she uses. Do you think she’d let me braid it? I’ve been thinking we need to have more group activities now that we have multiple guests, and I bet Angel knows a lot about styling-“

“Charlie!”

“-hair, because he works in a film studio and -what?” Charlie looked up from their new guest, smile fading at the irritation in Vaggie’s tone. Had she said something wrong?

Seeing the worry in her girlfriend’s eyes, Vaggie sighed inwardly. It wasn’t a bad thing that Charlie was happy to have someone other than Angel in her redemption program, but...well...

“Charlie, I know you’re excited, but that girl just fell down into Hell. She is probably going to be scared and confused when she wakes up, and it isn’t going to help if she wakes up to you hovering over her like that.” The owner of the Happy Hotel might be one of the least threatening demons in the Pentagram, but she was still very clearly inhuman, with her yellow scleras and pointed teeth.

Vaggie remembered manifesting in Hell. She’d spent the first day running for her life, convinced every demon she’d seen was a monster out to steal her soul.

Considering how fragile the yellow-blonde on the bed looked, she thought they should give her a day or two to adjust before trying to give her the “Big Happy Hotel Welcome” speech Charlie was so clearly dying to use.

They’d get to that eventually.

But first the girl needed to wake up and start process her situation without being poked and prodded by an overzealous host.

Charlie looked back down at her guest, torn. Vaggie probably had a point, but...she didn’t want to go. The princess of Hell had waited so long to start following her dream, and getting a famous face like Angel Dust’s onboard was a real coup (no matter what Vaggie, Alastor, Husk and 666 News said), but she’d never imagined being lucky enough for one of her first guests to be a soul new to Hell. Newcomers weren’t rare, but there was no way to know where they’d manifest or when, and for this little demon to literally fall into their lives like this...it had to be a sign.

It WAS a sign. She’d help her new guest, and they’d both help Angel, and soon they would be able to help all the people who’d see what good work they were doing. All she needed now was for her guest to wake up.

...but...Vaggie was right, wasn’t she? 

Deep down, Charlie knew Vaggie was the voice of reason in their personal relationship and doubly so in their work relationship. The moth always had her back, plus she was the only one between the pair of them who’d ever been new to Hell, so if she said they needed to give the girl space, Charlie had to trust her.

Because she would always trust the person she loved.

“You’re right, Vaggie. She’s clearly exhausted, so we can come back tomorrow to see if she’s up for talking about the Hotel.” Charlie reached out, twining her fingers together with her partner’s.

“Everything can wait until the morning.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I’ve been writing Charlie as kind of a ditz, but I think I’m more or less staying true to the canon. Charlie is definitely motivated, but she seemed very naive in the pilot, which I think has to do with her upbringing. After all, who would DARE hurt Lucifer’s daughter? I think she’ll become a bit more realistic as time goes by, but this takes place VERY soon after Alastor joined the Happy/Hazbin Hotel, so Charlie’s still getting used to things outside the protection of her family.


	5. Hell-O World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lotus wakes up in Hell and, obviously, doesn’t take it great.

Lotus shifted on the bed, snuggling deeper into the gray quilt. This was the life, enjoying her rest time without Poppy breathing down her neck, and the cot felt sooo good today, so much thicker and warmer than usual.

Wait.

The cot _never_ felt that good, and the quilt wasn’t thick or warm. 

Lavender eyes snapped open, staring straight up at a black ceiling. 

The barracks had a gray ceiling, and one that was curved and much higher up.

The communal living place for the fifty Shades was the only building in Purgatory.

She was in a building, and it wasn’t the barracks.

Put that all together and...

...

“What the ever loving entropy!?” The yellow-blonde jumped off of the plush bed, nearly tripping as her feet sank into the strange fabric covering the floor.

Was that a carpet? Another thing she’d never seen outside of books. Lotus flexed her toes experimentally. It was kind of nice, and she bet it would help keep the floor from getting cold when-

The Shade shook her head, dismissing all thoughts of carpet applications for another time. First thing first, where was she and how did she get here? 

Lotus closed her eyes, thinking back. She remembered...patrol. Yes, she’d been paired with Poppy.

_Ophelia and Yarrow...._

__

__

_“Do not talk to the Wisps.”_

_Falling to the ground... ___

____

____

_Green eyes..._

_...and another, much longer fall..._

No.

No no no no no! NO!

Opening her eyes, Lotus looked wildly around the room, needing some sign to show her that she was WRONG! Sure, she fell, but that’s how gravity works, and her head had been so weird and fuzzy, so she must have exaggerated the experience in her mind and made two and two into five somewhere along the way. That could happen, right?

A red light caught her attention, drawing her to...yes, that was definitely a window. Another thing nobody needed in Purgatory, what with the daily mist coverage.

Lotus felt light headed. Was she sick? Her breathing was faster than usual and her chest felt tight. This wasn’t happening, this wasn’t happening, THIS. WAS. NOT. HAPPENING.

Reaching the window, the girl looked out into the night. The dark, blood-colored night with a massive pentagram hovering far above trash covered streets.

Lotus had been born from the nothing of Purgatory.

She and her sisters had lived there since Creation itself, because Shades _never_ left Purgatory.

Because the Divine Order said so, and the Divine Order was absolute.

And then she’d fallen. Well, pushed or thrown, really, but she still fell.

And now...

“I’m in Hell.”

Lotus sank down against the wall, head pressed against the window sill. She could hear her breaths coming one after another. Was she always so loud? Was there something in Hell-air making her sick? Was she going to die here, in this black and red room? 

Could she die?

 _Ok, bad thoughts._ Lotus reached up, using the sill to pull herself back onto her feet. She needed to have a plan. Pilar always made the plans, but Pilar wasn’t here, so she’d need to be like Pilar for the moment.

She was in Hell.

She’d fallen down into Hell.

That shouldn’t be possible, but it had happened.

She’d fallen...

So maybe there was a way back up? A Shade was meant to be in the Place In-Between, so there had to be a way back. Lotus felt her breathing slow, her body calming slightly as things slid into place in her head.

If she had really fallen (but not on purpose!), all she had to do was drag herself back up.

But, before she could do that, she needed more information.

Turning away from the window, Lotus spotted a door. Steeling her resolve, the fallen Shade crossed the room and put her hand on the knob.

Somebody had put her in that bed, so that somebody was probably still in the building, waiting for her to wake up. 

She was Lotus Eater, Shade of Purgatory. She was going to get answers and she was going to get them _now!_

Time to meet her hosts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not my favorite chapter, but I’m setting up for a much better one later on. As always, comments are very welcome.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at a Hazbin Hotel fanfic, so prepare for a wild ride. Comments and advice are always appreciated.


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